Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority to lose more than 300 years of experience thru early retirements

Some of the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority's most experienced workers will carry more than 300 years of experience out the door this week, but the exodus will save the cash-strapped authority more than $1 million over the next five years.

It's all part of a voluntary early retirement program designed to whittle down the workforce, as the airport tries to balance its $22.5 million 2015 budget, said authority Executive Director Charles Everett Jr.

The program was an alternative to the kind of layoffs that happened in 2013.

"Those folks [in 2013] didn't want to go, but we had to make some tough decisions. This program was voluntary," Everett said. "We will miss the institutional knowledge and experience that comes with 335 years of combined service. We appreciate all of the significant contributions they made to the authority over the years."

In all, 10 employees are retiring, including seven that accepted the early retirement package. Those accepting the package are Systems Director Thomas Doster after 47.4 years, Senior Project Manager Bruce Frack after 44.5 years, Maintenance Master Mechanic Keith Lowell after 43.6 years, firefighter Donald May after 40.6 years, Operations & Safety Manager Lawrence Weiss after 39.6 years, Superintendent of Ground Transportation & Terminal Services Frank Dreher after 38.6 years and Human Resources & Accounting Generalist Elizabeth Taylor after 34.2 years.

As part of the program, retirees get airport health insurance benefits for two years and get two additional years of service in their pension program.

Some of the retirees will be temporarily retained as part-time consultants, while the airport transitions to the smaller workforce, Everett said.

Three other employees — 28-year Firefighter Daniel Baer, 10-year customer service representative Lynette Leendertz and seven-year line service technician James Kernick — also retired but were not eligible for the program, which requires at least 30 years of service.

In recent years, the airport has been struggling with failing passenger traffic while paying off a $26 million court judgment for taking a developer's land in the 1990s.

The judgment is scheduled to be paid off by December, and Everett said that will enable the airport to resume capital projects and stabilize its finances.

In 2013, the airport cut services and terminated 11 workers. The latest retirements reduce the airport full-time staff to 90.